Union County, NC Business Licensing & Operations: Secondhand Dealers (2026)
Key Facts
- Licensing basis
- Adopts G.S. ch.66 art.45 pt.1 (state act)
- Covered dealers
- Pawnbrokers, cash converters, metals dealers/recyclers
- Applies where
- Unincorporated county only (§10-57)
- Recordkeeping
- Electronic uploads to sheriff-designated system
- Penalty
- Class 3 misdemeanor, fine up to $500
Summary
Unincorporated Union County doesn't run its own pawnshop license desk. Instead, Section 10-51 adopts North Carolina's Pawnbrokers and Cash Converters Modernization Act as the licensing framework for pawnbrokers, cash converters, precious metals dealers, and secondary metals recyclers, and the Sheriff's Office enforces it, limited to areas outside every town's corporate limits.
The provisions found in G.S. ch. 66, art. 45, part 1, are hereby adopted by this article.
Full Breakdown
ch. 66, art. S. Chapter 66. Under Section 10-54, each of these businesses must electronically upload transaction records the sheriff can inspect and pick up, precious metals dealers within 48 hours of every transaction and the others each regular workday, to an entity or system the sheriff designates. S. Chapter 66; dealers remain independently responsible for those. Critically, Section 10-57 limits this whole article to 'all parts of the county not located within the corporate limits of any municipality,' so a pawnshop in Monroe, Indian Trail, Waxhaw, or any other town answers to that town's code instead.
Violations & Fines
Violating any provision of Chapter 10, Article II is a Class 3 misdemeanor under Section 10-56(1), punishable by a fine of up to $500.00, with each day a violation continues after the sheriff's notice counting as a separate offense. The county may also pursue an equitable remedy, including an injunction or abatement order, under Section 10-56(2) and G.S. 153A-123.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Union County issue its own pawnshop license?
Which businesses count as secondhand dealers under this chapter?
Does this chapter cover a pawnshop inside Monroe?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Union County
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